Wheeled vehicle



- 5mm, 1936. 1 F, G F 7, 2,028,976

WHEELED VEHICLE f Original Filed June 1, 1932 3nventor;

attorneys Patented Jan. 28, 1936 WHEELED VEHICLE Frederic J.

William J. Eskra, G. Goff, Madison,

Gofl, Madison, Wis., assignor to Milwaukee, and Nathaniel Wis., partnersApplication June 1, 1932, Serial No. 614,814

Renewed Octo 6 Claims.

My invention relates to wheeled vehicles, and particularly to smallportable vehicles or trucks adapted for one-man manipulation.

Among the objects of the invention are included the provision of asimple portable vehicle capable of transporting heavy oil drums, barrelsand the like, and requiring the services of one man only; a vehicleWhich can be readily loaded and unloaded; a vehicle which positivelyclamps the load in place without any movements other than thosenecessary in the normal steps of loading, transporting and unloading;and a vehicle which has no loose parts requiring positioning oradjustment.

Various other objects of the invention will be evident from a reading ofthe following specification, in connection with the accompanyingdrawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of one form of vehicle embodying myinvention;

Fig. 2 is an elevation showing the manner of loading the vehicle, andthe position of the parts during the loading operation; and

Fig. 3 is an elevation showing the vehicle loaded, and the parts in thepositions they 00- cupy in carrying a load.

The wheeled vehicle shown in the drawing as a two-wheeled truck,comprises a body 6 supported on wheels I, a handle 8, and a cradle 9pivoted on said handle. The body 6, made of steel, cast-iron or othersuitable material, supports a single shaft or a pair of stub shafts, onwhich the wheels 1 are mounted. Attached to the body 6, as by bolts II,is the handle 8 forming the backbone and main supporting member of thetruck. This handle may be of any suitable cross section, except at thetop end, where it is shaped as at I2 to provide a hand-hold.

Pivotally mounted on the handle 8, at I3, is a cradle 9 comprising apair of parallel side bars l4 secured together at their lower ends by acurved shoe or plate l5, adapted to rest against the load and preferablyto conform to its contour. The shoe I5 is rigidly attached to the sidepieces l4 in any suitable manner, as by welding. At their top ends,these side bars M are secured in rigid fixed relation by a jaw l6,welded or otherwise rigidly secured to them and having a curved serratedfront face'l! adapted to engage the load carried by the truck. Theserrations are provided to secure a more firm hold on the article to becarried.

The two side bars [4 on opposite sides of the pivot l3, as here shown,are angularly related so as to result in the formation of a long leverarnr ber 25, 1935 below the pivot 13, and a short lever arm above it,the two arms being disposed at an angle somewhat less than from the sidecarrying the shoe l5 and jaw I 6. Obviously, the same result may beobtained by curving the bars l4.

5 Attached to the handle 8 as by bolts l9 at a point above the jaw l6carried by cradle 9, is a bracket l8. This bracket extends at rightangles to the handle 8, and terminates in a downwardly depending jaw 2|having a serrated inner face 22, adapted to contact with and grip anarticle to be carried and to cooperate with the jaw IS in doing so.These two jaws function in consonance to grip from opposite sides thearticle to be carried, and to clamp it securely to the truck duringtransporting operations, without requiring the bottom of the article tobe supported in any way.

For the purpose of this description, the truck is referred to as beingused in lifting and transporting heavy steel drums, such as those whichare frequently used in storing oil. It will be understood, however, thatthe use is not limited to this particular field, since the truck iscapable of carrying barrels, sacks, and any other articles which can begripped by the jaws l6 and 2| to prevent them from sliding downwardlyduring transportation.

The method of operating the truck will be understood from a reference toFigs. 2 and 3 of the drawing, wherein the reference character 23designates a steel barrel or oil drum having the the top of the barrel.The weight of the depending truck will cause it to swing inwardly towardthe barrel until the shoe The operator then seizes the handle and pullsit backwardly away from the barrel, while holding his foot against thebody 6 of the truck. In this way, a powerful leverage can be exertedupon the barrel, causing it to tip over until the wheels 7 contact withthe surface upon which the barrel rests.

As this tilting operation proceeds, the weight of the barrel isgradually brought against the 50 shoe l5, and the side bars M of thecradle, thereby rocking this cradle and bringing the shoe [5 into morefirm contact with the wall of the barrel. At the same time, the actionresults in producing a firmer contact between the serrated face ringmaybe stopped when the '22 of jaw 21am the inside' of'ohime 24. Whenthe'barrelhas been lifted, as shown in Fig. 3, the chime 24 isfirmly'clamped between the serrated faces ll and 22 of the jaws l6and2i,.and is prevented from sliding off the truck. The tiltlower end ofthe barrel is raised sufiiciently iromthe ground to permit the truck toberolled along, carrying its between jaws l6 andhZl load.

'When the place of deposit is reached, the operator places his foot'onthe truck body 6 and allows the barrel to swing forwardly and eases itdown until the parts are returned to theposi- The truck may then be 7tion'shown in Fig. 2. V V lifted off the'barrel, since'the clampingaction ceases as soon as the weight of the load is removed from thecradle.

'As shown; end of handle 8 by an amount corresponding substantially tothe height of the drum or barrel to jaw 2i need not be located atexactly this point, since the truck is capable of handling tallerobjects} The only limitation is that the jaw 2| must be located farenough down to permit it'to hook over the shortest object to be handled.In?

' asmuch as objects of the charaoter under iconsideratio'n are more orbe manipulated by one man,

. less standard in size and form, the best proportioning of parts can beinitially chosenso that further modifications are unnecessary, and alladjustments and superfluous parts are completely done away with. Thevehicl'e illustrated has 'two wheels, but it will be i understood'thatmy invention is not limited to the use of this particular V 7 It will beobvious from'the above descript on number.

anddesoribed can and there is no necessity for lifting the load as adead-weight, since there is nothing to-beinserted under the load; Theparts of the truck are soarrangedas to make it possible to exert apowerfulleverage, and to transport with ease articles having a weight offrom 409 to 500 pounds or more; Drums of the character herein shown areordinarily difiicultand cumbersome to handle, both'because of their sizeand weight, and also because of the absence of any suitable grippingmeans,

that the truck herein shown truck, thenecessity of lifting, tipping androlling drums of this character is entirely avoided, and

one man can do the work formerly requiring two men. V V e Although Ihave herein shown and described only one form of truck embodying thisinven tion, it will be obvious that various changes and modificationsmay be made in the details within the scope of the appended claims,without departing from the spirit and scope of the inven: tion.@

(What is claimed is:- J a n 1. Avehicle comprising 'a frame constructedfor I rolling movement and including an elongated ing with saidstationary jaw f o l nslm vs e t;

to said body; an article-supporting member pivoted onpsaidr elongatedmember; ashoe on one the jaw 2| is spaced from the lower ing with thestationary By' the use of this 7 supporting memberj a stationaryclamping jaw carried by said member adjacent the upper end thereof; anda pivoted member on saidsupportr ing member, said pivoted member beingadapted to support an articleto be carried and against 5 which saidarticle reacts at'a' point 7 said stationary ciamping jaw and adjace ntthe remote from lower end of saidsupportingmember, said pivoted memberincluding a movable jaw cooperatto clamp an article on said pivotedmember. I r a 2. A vehicle comprising a body constructed for anelongated member secured end of said article-supporting member; aclampiingjaw on the other end of'said artiele-supporting member; and astationary clampi law 7 carried by 'said elongatedrmember andcooperatjaw on said elongated member; to olamp an article in position onsaid body. V

3. The combination rwith an elongated body constructedfor rollingmovement, of an article'- supporting' cradle pivoted on said body' inlongitudinal alignment with said body; an article engaging shoeonone'en'dlof' said cradleand a movable clamping jaw on the other end;and a" stationary jaw on said body cooperatingwith saidmovable jaw'toclamp an article-in position on said body. i

4. The combination with a wheeledlbodyjof j 7 an elongated member; afirstcclass lever pivoted on said member and'comprising a longfarrn'below the pivot point and a shorter arm abov' the pivot point; a clampin'g'jaw on saidsnorter'arin above the pivot point; a second clamping-jawmounted on said elongated member for cooperation with said first-namedjaw; andan articleengaging shoe carried by'the long armof said lever ata point remote from said pivot point I 7 '5. The combination'with aframe constructed for rolling movement, of a stationary clamping jawmounted" thereon and having an"artiole engaging face spaced from saidframe; a'movable jaw located inwardly ofrsaidstationary jaw and adaptedto cooperate therewith; and a lever for actuating saidmovable jaw, saidiever being pivoted on said frame and constructed to support anarticle;'6.' In amachine for transporting barrel-like articl'esjthecomb'n'ation'o'f 'a iigid body element; a'jaw secured in spaced relationthereto and ex tending downwardly in substantial parallelism therewith;and a lever of the first order fulcrumed 7 onthe body, said lever at itsupper endbeing provided with a jaw standing below that ,of fthe firstnamed jaw, and said lever at its lower ,end carrying a-shoe. s

"FRED RIC', J; Gone; 611'

